I attended one of the stops on the AMG Performance Tour yesterday in Northbrook, IL. AMG, the performance division of Mercedes-Benz, is trying to prove that they are serious about performance. At this event, the C 63 AMG was the star of the show. The day started with a talk about C 63 and its incredible 451 horsepower engine and 7 speed automatic transmission. Next up, was a chance to get behind the wheel. The surprising part was that we wouldn’t be going anywhere.

The C 63 was strapped onto a dyno so that users could simulate a drive to 0-60 mph and then one from 0-100 mph. This wasn’t as much fun because we couldn’t even see through the windshield when sitting in the car. The acceleration test that went up to 100mph was meant to show how cool and effortless the shifter paddles were, but to me, paddle shifting just came off as slow and boring.

I also got the chance to drive around in some AMG cars. The cool part of the AMG Performance Tour was that we only drove the performance models. The 6.3 is the backbone of AMG and every one of the cars they offered had this beast of an engine. The cars we could drive were the ML 63, SL 63, CL 63, C 63, and E 63. The first car I drove was the C 63 AMG. It wasn’t a very impressive car to me because of the hard plastics in dash and the relative lack of leather appointments. The second car, the SL 63 had a ferocious snarl. The last car was the one that was most impressive. My last drive of the day was in an E 63 AMG. The E with the sport package had the nicest seats and, in my opinion, the most luxurious interior. The inside of that car was just a sea of leather and Alcantara.

The drives were all of public roads so there was very little tire squealing and staying under fifty miles per hour. It was still a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.